Car-fender



(No Model.)

Patented Peb. 4, 1896,-

ANDREW BRAHAM. PHOTOUTHQWASHI N GTOv'U UNITED STATES' PATENT rrrcn.

LUKE E. SIOARD ND JOHN FRAZEE, OF NEV ORLEANS, LOUISIANA.

CAR-FENDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 554,149, dated February 4, 1896. Application filed September 5,1895. Serial No. 561,578. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern.-

Be it known that we, LUKE E. SICARD and JOHN FRAZEE, citizens of the United States, residing at New Orleans, in the parish of Orleans and State of Louisiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Oar- Fenders; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and eXact descrip-` tion of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, and to the figures of reference marked thereon.

This invention relates to car-fenders, and particularly to that class of fenders that are attached to the platforms of electric and cable cars.

Our invention has for its object to provide a car-fender of the type described that may be quickly folded up in a compact form against the car-dashboard when not in use, and when so folded up will permit the employment of the usual draw-head for coupling to another car; also, to provide a car-fender with improved means for normally holding the fender above the track-rails, but which yields when an object is struck and permits the fender to drop in close proximity to the rails to pick up the person or object struck; also, to provide the fender with a yielding or swinging tripping device whereby injury to the person struck is avoided, and, finally, to improve and simplify the construction and render more efficient the operation of car-fenders generally.

To these ends our invention consists in the novel features and in the construction or combination of parts hereinafter described7 and pointed out in the claims following the de scription, reference being had to the accompanyin g drawings, forming a part this specification, wherein- Figure 1 is a perspective view of our improved car-fender applied to a car in position for operation. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same. Fig 3 is a front elevation showing the parts folded up. Fig. is a side elevation of the fender when folded up as in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of the hinge connection between the fender-guard and the apron, and Fig. 6 is a similar view of the counterbalanced rock-shaft and its cams.

Referring to the drawings, the referenceY numeral 1 indicates the platform of a car,and 2 the dashboard thereof. Projecting from each side of the dashboard and near the upshown, and at theirupper extremities are united by a rod 8, the ends of which project beyond said side bars and are adapted to be journaled in the T-shaped slots of the brackets 3. The side bars G of the fender-guard are provided with coincident perforations, through which is laced back and forth a rope or cord 9 or other iiexible and yielding material.

At a point opposite the end of the drawhead 10 the rope or cord is stretched only par tially across the space intervening between the side bars 6, suitable stretchers 11 being provided,through the perforations 12 of which the cord or rope is laced, as shown, to form an aperture 13, through which the draw-head 10 is adapted to project when the fenderguard is folded up in the manner hereinafter described.

The stretchers 11 are held in position by a cord or rope 14, that is laced through the apertures formed in the adjacent edges of the stretchers. The rod 7 projects at its opposite ends beyond the side bars 6, and journaled on said projecting ends are two rearwardlyextending levers 15, that at their free eX- tremities are provided with beveled hooked ends 16, that project through slotted brackets 17, that are secured to the under side of the car-platform 1. The hooked ends of the levers 15 are adapted to engage the rear sides of the brackets 17 and prevent the fender from swinging too far forward on its fulcrum 8, and pins 18 are secured in the opposite sides of the said levers and prevent in like manner a corresponding movement of the fender rearward. The brackets 17 are provided with depending bails 19, in which is j ournaled a rock-shaft 20, and to said shaft, intermediate its ends, is affixed an arm 21, on which is adj ustably mounted a counterbalance-weight IOD 22. To the opposite ends of said shaft are rigidly secured beveled cams .3, that are caused by the counterbalanee -weight 22 to abut against the beveled ends 16 of the levers 15, and swing the fender about its fulcrum 8 and hold the same in its forward elevated position.

Journaled upon the extremities of the rod 7 are two curved arms 2li, which at their forward ends are united by a rod 25 protected by a hollow tubular cushion 26, inflated by airin manner similar to the well-known pneum atie tire. Stretehed over and secured to the arms 24 is an apron 26, of sheet metal or other suitable material, and in the center of said apron is cut an aperture 27, which, when the apron is folded up in the manner hereinafter described, permits the draw-head 10 to project therethrough in position for use. Upon the rod 25 are journaled pulleys or wheels 28, that are adapted to rest upon the track-rails when the fender is lowered and support the weight of the same and the weight of the person or object picked up thereby. ln its elevated or raised position the weight of the apron 26 and its frame is supported by ears 29, that proj eet from the forward ends of the levers 15 under the rear ends of the arms 2l and hold the apron in approximately a horizontal position.

Pivoted in bearings 30, secured to the forward ends of the arms 24, is the tripping' device, consisting of a bail-shaped rod 31, upon which is secured a hollow tubular pneumatic cushion 32, and said tripping device is normally swung forward in front of the apron 26, as shown in Fig. 1.

To the side bars 6 of the fender-guard 5 are secured catches 33, over which, when the apron is folded up against the fender-guard, the tripping' device is adapted to be sprung and hold the apron in its folded position.

The operation of our improved device is as follows: When in position for use the fulcrum-rod S of the fender-guard rests within the slotted brackets 3, and the rear ends of the levers 15 project through the slotted brackets 17. The beveled cams 23 on the weighted rock-shaft 2O abut against the beveled ends of said levers 15 and swing the fender-guard about its fulerum S and hold the samein its forward elevated position. When the fender-guard is in this position the apron 26 is held in its raised position above the rails by the ears 29, in the manner before described, and the tripping device 31 is swung forward in front of the apron. Should a person obstruct the track the tripping device 31 will strike him. The impact of the blow will cause the fender-guard to swing downwardly about its fulcrum 8 and lower the apron 26 until the wheels 2S rest upon the track-rails, the levers 15 during this operation being forced back through the slotted brackets 17 and against the action of the cams 23 on the weighted rockshaft 20. As the apron 26 is lowered the tripping device 31, by the continued forward motion of the car, is swung up and over the apron,

lessening the impact of the blow upon the person, tripping him up, and swinging or lifting him over and upon the apron. The weight of the person will maintain the apron in its lowered position until removed, thus holding the apron in position to pick up any other person or object obstructing the track in the vicinity. Vhen the obstru ction picked up by the apron has been removed therefrom the weight on the rock-shaft 2O will immediately operate to again lift the apron to its normal position.

lVhen it is desired to throw the fender out of operation-as, for example, in storing the cars, when running backward, or when it is desired to couple another ear thereto-the fender is folded up by folding the apron 26 upon its pivot 7 over and against the fenderguard, in which position the tripping device 31 will engage the catches 83 and hold the apron in its folded position. The levers 15 are next folded up about the pivot 7 against the apron 26, when the fender-guard, together with the apron, may be folded back against the dashboard of the car, when by raising the fulcrum-rod S in the enlarged ends of the T-shaped slots 4 of the brackets 3 the ears 29 on the levers 15 may be dropped within the upturned U-shaped flanges 33 of the brackets 17 and support the apron and fender-guard in their folded position in front of the dashboard.

lhen the apron and fender-guard are folded up in the manner described, the apertures 27 and 13, formed in the apron and fender-guard respectively, register with each other and permit the draw-head 10 to project therethrough in position for coupling on another car.

The fender may be very quickly detached from the car by withdrawing the fulcrum-rod 8 from its retaining-brackets 3 when circumstances render such removal desirable or necessary.

Having described our invention, what we claim is 1. ln a car-fender, the combination with a fender-guard detachably fulerumed at its upper end to the upper portion of the dashboard, of an independent apron hinged to the lower end of the fender-guard and adapted to be folded up against the latter, and hinged supports normally holding the said fender guard and apron in a forwardly-extended and elevated posi tion but yielding when an object is struck to retract and lower said guard and apron, said supports being adapted to fold up against the fender-guard to permit the latter to be folded rearwardly against the dashboard, substantially as described.

2. In a car-fender, the combination of the fender-guard 5 fulerumed at its upper end to the dashboard, the horizontal apron 26 secured to the lower end of said fender-guard, the levers 15 hinged at their forward ends to the fender-guard and provided at their rear ends with hooked, beveled extremities that IOO IIO

normally project through slotted brackets 17 secured to the platform, a rock-shaft 2O journaled in bearings in said brackets and carrying beveled cams 23 engaging the beveled ends of the levers 15, and a weighted arm fixed on said rock-shaft and operating to normally hold the fender-guard and apron elevated above the track, but yielding when the fender strikes an obstruction to permit the fender-guard and apron to drop, substantially as described.

3. In a car-fender, the combination of the fender-guard 5 fulcrumed at its upper end to the dashboard, the apron 26 hinged to the lower end of said fender-guard, the levers 15 hinged at their forward ends to the fenderguard and provided with forwardly-extending ears 29 that project beneath the rear end of the apron and support the latter in operative posit-ion and at their rear ends having hooked, beveled extremities that normally project through slotted brackets 17 secured to the platform, a rock-shaft 2O journaled in bearings in said brackets and carrying beveled cams 23 engaging the beveled ends of the levers 15, and a weighted arm fixed on said rock-shaft and operatin g to normally hold the fenderguard and apron elevated above the track, but yielding when the fender strikes an obstruction to permit the fenderguard and apron to drop, substantially as described.

4. In a car-fender, the combination of the fender-guard 5 fulcrumed and movable in slotted bearings secured to the upper portion of the dashboard, the apron 26 hinged to the lower end of said fender-guard, the levers 15 hinged at their forward ends to the fenderguard and provided with forwardly-extending ears 29 that project beneath the rear end of the apron and support the latter in operative position and at their rear ends having hooked, beveled extremities that normally project through slotted brackets 17 secured to the platform, a rock-shaft 2O journaled in bearings in said brackets and carrying beveled cams 23 engaging the beveled ends of the levers l5, a weighted arm fixed on said rock-shaft and operating to normally hold the fender-guard and apron elevated above the track, but yielding when the fender strikes an obstruction to permit the fender-guard and apron to drop, and the upturned flanges 33 on the brackets 17 for supporting the levers 15, when the latter and the apron and fender-guard are folded up, substantially as described.

5. A fender-guard, consisting of upwardly and rearwardly curved side bars 6 united at their opposite ends by rods 7 and 8, and having coincident perforations, and a cord or rope interlaced through said perforations'between the side bars and at a point opposite the draw-head through stretchers 11, to form an aperture for the passage of the draw-head, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names in the presence of two witnesses.

LUKE E. SICARD. JOHN FRAZEE. Witnesses:

I. J. BARNETT, IV. H. VVEIS. p, 

